Olympos, Archaeological site in Antalya Province, Turkey
Olympos is an archaeological site in Antalya Province at the foot of Mount Olympos, set between a river valley and the Mediterranean coast. The remains include a theater, several temples, bathhouses, and sarcophagi scattered among pine trees and oleander bushes.
The city emerged in the third century BC as a Lycian settlement and later joined the Lycian League. Pirates used the place as a base in the first century BC before Rome took control and developed it into a trading harbor.
The site served as a center for the worship of Hephaestus, the god of fire, because of the burning gas vents nearby. Visitors today notice the contrast between the stone ruins in the valley and the wild mountains behind them.
The access runs through a forest path along the river, and visitors should wear sturdy shoes because the trails are uneven. The best time to visit is early morning or late afternoon to avoid the midday heat.
The river valley ends at a small beach that sea turtles use for nesting in summer. Some inscriptions on the sarcophagi are still readable and show names of merchants and ship captains from antiquity.
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